Hiked the Ice Age Trail in Wisconsin last weekend and noticed the orange blazes were way easier to follow than the yellow ones on the northern section

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I mean, maybe the trail builders just ran out of high-visibility paint halfway through the project and figured nobody would notice. Idk, orange just pops way better against green leaves and grey bark, while yellow blends in like a camouflaged banana. Could be worse though, at least they didn't switch to white blazes you can't see until you trip over them.

charles_chen9317d ago

Actually, the Ice Age Trail uses yellow blazes for the main route and orange for the alternate routes or connector trails. So the orange blazes you followed were probably on a different section or a side path, not the main trail. The yellow ones are meant to be a bit more subtle since they're the official route through more remote areas. That said, I totally agree that orange is way easier to spot in the woods, especially when fall leaves start dropping. The National Park Service actually did a study years ago showing orange is the most visible color against most natural backgrounds. It's not about running out of paint, it's just a deliberate choice to keep the main trail a little less obvious to avoid overcrowding.